Pembrokeshire Coalfield

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Map of British Coalfields

The Pembrokeshire Coalfield in West Wales is one of the smallest British coalfields, but continuously worked from the 14th to 20th centuries. The main coalfield extends across south Pembrokeshire from Saundersfoot on Carmarthen Bay westwards to Broad Haven on St Brides Bay. A small detached portion of the field is centred on Newgale on St Brides Bay. [1]

Wales Country in northwest Europe, part of the United Kingdom

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,700 km) of coastline and is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon, its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate.

Great Britain island in the North Atlantic off the north-west coast of continental Europe

Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of 209,331 km2 (80,823 sq mi), it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island, and the ninth-largest island in the world. In 2011, Great Britain had a population of about 61 million people, making it the world's third-most populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The island of Ireland is situated to the west of Great Britain, and together these islands, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands, form the British Isles archipelago.

Pembrokeshire County in Wales

Pembrokeshire is a county in the southwest of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the sea everywhere else.

Contents

The coalfield is in effect the westernmost extension of the South Wales Coalfield though it is separated from the main body of that field by Carmarthen Bay.

South Wales Coalfield

The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich in coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys. It supported a large part, but not all, of the coal industry in Wales.

Seams

Coal seams within the Pembrokeshire Coalfield are traditionally referred to as veins. The following sequence is recognised in the west of the district: [2]

The Stonepit and Quarry Veins are collectively referred to as the Sibbernock Veins. The sequence from the Three Quarter to the Foot Vein constitutes the Newgale, Simpson and Eweston Coals.

In contrast in the centre and east of the district, there are fewer veins in what is a more compressed sequence:

Kilgetty village in United Kingdom

Kilgetty is a village immediately north of Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire, Wales, at the junction of the A477 between St. Clears and Pembroke Dock and the A478 between Tenby and Cardigan.

History

Coal mining in Pembrokeshire dates back at least to the early 14th century. The coal was used locally or exported by sea from local ports. It was generally high-quality anthracite, but seams were mostly thin, with the best coal only available at some depth. In 1603 George Owen of Henllys described a typical colliery as employing 16 people working from 6am to 6pm. In the 1700s collieries were employing men, women and boys for a few pence a day, rising to a shilling (for men) by 1806. By the 19th century coal mining had become an important local industry with many farmers operating mines or carting as a supplement to their income. By 1865 the coalfield was employing nearly 1,000 people. Decline began in the 19th century, with many collieries closing after 1900, but others retained a strong link between mining and agriculture. Some collieries continued into the 20th century until the industry was nationalised in 1947, when the last colliery, at Kilgetty, [3] closed. [4] [5]

George Owen of Henllys Welsh antiquarian, author, and naturalist

George Owen of Henllys was a Welsh antiquarian, author, and naturalist.

British Coal

The British Coal Corporation was a nationalised corporation responsible for the mining of coal in the United Kingdom. It existed from the 1946 Labour Government 1945-1951's Coal Industry Nationalisation Act establishing the National Coal Board (NCB) (1946−1987), until the 1997 disestablishment of the British Coal Corporation (1987−1997).

See also

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Coal mining in the United Kingdom

Coal mining in the United Kingdom dates back to Roman times and occurred in many different parts of the country. Britain's coalfields are associated with Northumberland and Durham, North and South Wales, Yorkshire, the Scottish Central Belt, Lancashire, Cumbria, the East and West Midlands and Kent. After 1970, coal mining quickly collapsed and practically disappeared in the 21st century. The consumption of coal – mostly for electricity – fell from 157 million tonnes in 1970 to 18 million tonnes in 2016. Of the coal mined, 77% of supplies were imported from Colombia, Russia and the United States. Of the coal mined in the UK in 2016 all was from open-cast coal mines. Employment in coal mines fell from a peak of 1,191,000 in 1920 to 695,000 in 1956, 247,000 in 1976, 44,000 in 1993, and to 2,000 in 2015.

Lancashire Coalfield coal mining region in England

The Lancashire Coalfield in North West England was one of the most important British coalfields. Its coal seams were formed from the vegetation of tropical swampy forests in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago.

Ingleton Coalfield

The Ingleton Coalfield is in North Yorkshire, close to its border with Lancashire in north-west England. Isolated from other coal-producing areas, it is one of the smallest coalfields in Great Britain.

The Denbighshire Coalfield in north-east Wales is one of the smaller British coalfields. It extends from near Caergwrle in the north, southwards through Wrexham, Ruabon and Rhosllannerchrugog to Chirk in the south. A small part extends into Shropshire around Oswestry. Beyond Caergwrle the coal-bearing strata continue northwards as the Flintshire Coalfield. Together the two coalfields are known as the North Wales Coalfield.

Bridgewater Collieries originated from the coal mines on the Manchester Coalfield in Worsley in the historic county of Lancashire owned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater in the second half of the 18th century. After the Duke's death in 1803 his estate was managed by the Bridgewater Trustees until the 3rd Earl of Ellesmere inherited the estates in 1903. Bridgewater Collieries was formed in 1921 by the 4th Earl. The company merged with other prominent mining companies to form Manchester Collieries in 1929.

Forest of Dean Coalfield

The Forest of Dean Coalfield, underlying the Forest of Dean, in west Gloucestershire, is one of the smaller coalfields in the British Isles, although intensive mining during the 19th and 20th centuries has had enormous influence on the landscape, history, culture, and economy of the area.

Chanters Colliery was a coal mine which was part of the Fletcher, Burrows and Company's collieries at Hindsford in Atherton, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England.

Bradford Colliery

Bradford Colliery was a coal mine in Bradford, Manchester, England. Although part of the Manchester Coalfield, the seams of the Bradford Coalfield correspond more closely to those of the Oldham Coalfield. The Bradford Coalfield is crossed by a number of fault lines, principally the Bradford Fault, which was reactivated by mining activity in the mid-1960s.

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Little Haven village in the United Kingdom

Little Haven is a village at the south east corner of St Bride's Bay in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Together with the larger coastal village of Broad Haven to the north, Little Haven falls within the Havens community for which the 2001 census recorded a population of 1,328.

Nolton Haven human settlement in the United Kingdom

Nolton Haven is a hamlet halfway along the coast of St Bride's Bay in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is included within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Together with the larger inland village of Nolton which is about 1 km to the southeast and the village of Roch, Nolton Haven falls within Nolton and Roch community.

This is a partial glossary of coal mining terminology commonly used in the coalfields of the United Kingdom. Some words were in use throughout the coalfields, some are historic and some are local to the different British coalfields.

Coal industry in Wales

The coal industry in Wales has played an important role in the Industrial Revolution in Wales. Coal mining expanded in the eighteenth century to provide fuel for the blast furnaces of the iron and copper industries that were expanding in southern Wales. The industry had reached large proportions by the end of that century, and then further expanded to supply steam-coal for the steam vessels that were beginning to trade around the world. The Cardiff Coal Exchange set the world price for steam-coal and Cardiff became a major coal-exporting port. The South Wales Coalfield was at its peak in 1913 and was one of the largest coalfields in the world. It remained the largest coalfield in Britain until 1925. The supply of coal dwindled, and pits closed in spite of a UK-wide strike against closures. The last deep mine in Wales, Tower Colliery, closed in 2008, after thirteen years as a co-operative owned by its miners.

References

  1. ↑ British Geological Survey 2009 Bedrock geology: UK South BGS, Keyworth, Nottingham
  2. ↑ Connop-Price, M.R., 2004 Pembrokeshire: the Forgotten Coalfield, Landmark Publishing, Ashbourne , England
  3. ↑ Aled Scourfield (14 February 2019). "New plaque for Pembrokeshire's 'forgotten' pit disaster". BBC News. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  4. ↑ "GENUKI: The Coal Industry in Pembrokeshire" . Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  5. ↑ George Edwards (1963). The Coal Industry in Pembrokeshire (PDF). 1. Field Studies. pp. 33–64. Retrieved 31 August 2016.

Coordinates: 51°42′N4°42′W / 51.700°N 4.700°W / 51.700; -4.700

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